Sound Transit picks Tacoma Link route

The Sound Transit Board of Directors has selected the North Downtown Central Corridor, also called the E1 Corridor, as the alignment to move ahead with further environmental review for a potential expansion of the Tacoma Link light rail system.

The E1 Corridor would link the Stadium District and Martin Luther King Jr. mixed use center. The 2.3-mile route will be further defined and evaluated as part of the project level environmental review process.

Tacoma's existing 1.6-mile Link light rail line, which many advocates consider a streetcar operation, currently serves six stations between the Theater District and Tacoma Dome Station.

"The decision by the Board [May 23] allows Sound Transit to focus its planning efforts on one corridor out of the 24 corridor options studied, with the goal of identifying a specific route for expanding the Tacoma Link light rail line," Sound Transit Board Chair and Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy told local media.